Low bandwidth consumption online content editing

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for low bandwidth consumption online content editing, where user-created content comprising high definition/quality content is created or modified at an online content editing server according to instructions from an online content editor client, and where a proxy version of the resulting user-created content is provided to online content editor client to facilitate review or further editing of the user-created content from the online content editor client. In some embodiments, the online content editing server utilizes proxy content during creation and modification operations on the user-created content, and replaces such proxy content with corresponding higher definition/quality content, possibly when the user-created content is published for consumption, or when the user has paid for the higher quality content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/433,256, filed Mar. 28, 2012, which claimsbenefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 61/468,725, filedMar. 29, 2011, 61/564,256 filed Nov. 28, 2011, 61/564,257, filed Nov.28, 2011, and 61/564,261, filed Nov. 28, 2011, which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Generally, audio-video content editing on computer systems involvescomputationally intensive processes and utilizes larger than usualamounts of computing resources than other computer activities (e.g.,word processing, browsing the Internet). This is particularly true whenthe content editing involves high definition/quality audio or videocontent, which are well notorious for being large in data size andprocess heavy during content encoding and decoding processes.

Unfortunately, due to these computing needs, high definition/qualityaudio-video content editing has typically been limited to powerfulcomputing systems that tend to have the requisite computing resources toperform content editing quickly. If the same high definition/qualitycontent editing were to be performed on a less powerful computingsystem, the likely result would be slower or poorer content editingperformance, possibly to the point where the content editing becomesimpractical or impossible. Consequently, less powerful computingsystems, such as older computer systems, netbooks, and particular mobiledevices, are either prevented from performing audio-video contentediting, or relegated to performing audio-video content editinginvolving only proxy content.

The foregoing example of trends and issues is intended to beillustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the art will becomeapparent to those of skill in the relevant art upon a reading of thespecification and a study of the drawings.

SUMMARY

According to various embodiments, systems and methods for low bandwidthconsumption online content editing are provided, where user-createdcontent comprising high definition/quality content (also referred to as“non-proxy content”) is created or modified at an online content editingserver according to the instruction from an online content editorclient, and where a proxy version (also referred to herein as a “proxyversion”) of the resulting user-created content is provided to onlinecontent editor client to facilitate review or further editing of theuser-created content from the online content editor client. In someembodiments, the online content editing server utilizes proxy content(also referred to herein as “proxy content”) during creation andmodification operations on the user-created content, and replaces suchproxy content with corresponding higher definition/quality contentpossibly when the user-created content is published for consumption, orwhen the user has paid for the higher quality content.

By utilizing proxy versions of the user-created content in this manner,systems and methods of some embodiments can utilize less networkbandwidth as the online content editor client commands the onlinecontent editor server to perform content-related operations onuser-created content, and as the online content editor server providesproxy versions of the user-created content for content review andediting purposes. The use of proxy versions of the user-created contentalso allow the online content editor client to review and edit contentwithout the need for additional computing resources to reviewuser-created content comprising high quality/high definition content.

In addition to using proxy versions of content for online contentediting, various embodiments may optimize network bandwidth usage bydynamically determining what portions and/or versions of user-created oruser-modified content should be uploaded from an online content editorclient to an online content editing server as the content editingactivities are performed (e.g., through the online content editorclient). For some embodiments, the determination can be based on thetype of content editing activity being performed at the online contenteditor client (e.g., collaborative content activity, previewinguser-created content, or previewing rendered user-created content).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a diagram of an example of a low bandwidth consumptiononline content editor system in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of an example of a client-server system for lowbandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an example of a server-side method for lowbandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an example of a client-side method for lowbandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of an example of an optimization method forlow bandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 6 depicts an example of client-side user interface for lowbandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a system on which techniques described inthis paper can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as aprocess; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computerprogram product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or aprocessor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions storedon and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor. In thisspecification, these implementations, or any other form that theinvention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, theorder of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within thescope of the invention. Unless stated otherwise, a component such as aprocessor or a memory described as being configured to perform a taskmay be implemented as a general component that is temporarily configuredto perform the task at a given time or a specific component that ismanufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term ‘processor’refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing coresconfigured to process data, such as computer program instructions.

A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention isprovided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate theprinciples of the invention. The invention is described in connectionwith such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to anyembodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims andthe invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications andequivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the followingdescription in order to provide a thorough understanding of theinvention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and theinvention may be practiced according to the claims without some or allof these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technicalmaterial that is known in the technical fields related to the inventionhas not been described in detail so that the invention is notunnecessarily obscured.

FIG. 1 depicts a diagram of an example of a low bandwidth consumptiononline content editor system in accordance with some embodiments. Thelow bandwidth consumption online content editor system 100 includes alow bandwidth consumption online content editor server 102, aserver-side datastore 104 coupled to the low bandwidth consumptiononline content editor server 102, an online content editor client 106, aclient-side datastore 108 coupled to the online content editor client106, and a network 110 through which the online content editor client106 communicates with the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor server 102. Through this arrangement, the online content editorclient 106 can leverage the computing resources and power of the lowbandwidth consumption online content editor server 102 when creating ormodifying user-created content, especially when the user-created contentcomprises high definition/quality graphics, image, audio, or videocontent. Often, the low bandwidth consumption online content editorserver 202 comprises computing resources that surpass those of theonline content editor client 206, or computing resources that are bettersuited for content creation or modification than those of the onlinecontent editor client 206. Though FIG. 1 depicts a single online contenteditor client, the system 100 can include multiple online content editorclients that can communicate with the low bandwidth consumption onlinecontent editor server 102.

“User-created content” as used herein includes any content authored by auser using the content creation/editing tools described in this paper,or some other content editing tool. The user-created content can becreated to be multi-layered content, comprising multiple content layersof different content types. High definition/quality as used hereinincludes content having definition or quality that is higher than theaverage definition or quality for the similar content. For example, highdefinition/quality audio content can include audio clips having a highsampling rate (e.g., 44 KHz), has a higher bit-rate or effectivebit-rate (e.g., 256 Kbs), or is encoded in a lossless audio encodingformat.

As used in this paper, an engine includes a dedicated or sharedprocessor and, typically, firmware or software modules that are executedby the processor. Depending upon implementation-specific or otherconsiderations, an engine can be centralized or its functionalitydistributed. An engine can include special purpose hardware, firmware,or software embodied in a computer-readable medium for execution by theprocessor. As used in this paper, a computer-readable medium is intendedto include all mediums that are statutory (e.g., in the United States,under 35 U.S.C. 101), and to specifically exclude all mediums that arenon-statutory in nature to the extent that the exclusion is necessaryfor a claim that includes the computer-readable medium to be valid.Known statutory computer-readable mediums include hardware (e.g.,registers, random access memory (RAM), non-volatile (NV) storage, toname a few), but may or may not be limited to hardware.

In the example of FIG. 1, the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor system 100 can enable a user at the online content editor client106 located remotely on the network 110 to instruct the low bandwidthconsumption online content editor server 102 to create or modifyuser-created content on behalf of the client 106, where the created ormodified user-created content comprises high definition/quality contentor a proxy version thereof. The user-created content may bemulti-layered content comprising a plurality of content layers, whereeach content layer comprises one or more content items from a contentlibrary, and the content items are high definition/quality content itemsor versions thereof.

As the low bandwidth consumption online content editor server 102creates or modifies the user-created content, the server 102 providesthe online content editor client 106 a version of the resultinguser-created content that comprises a proxy version of the highdefinition/quality content. The online content editor client 106 can usethe resulting user-created content (having proxy content) for review orediting purposes as the client 106 instructs the server 102 to modifythe user-created content. For example, the online content editor client106 can perform edits to content by directly applying edits to the proxycontent (e.g., received from the server 102) and then uploading theedited proxy content to the server 102 (e.g., so that the server 102 haslatest version of the content for collaboration or finalrendering/publishing purposes). In another example, the online contenteditor client 106 can perform edits to content by instructing the server102 to perform edits to the content (e.g., stored at the server 102) onthe client 106's behalf; thereafter, the online content editor client106 can receive a proxy version of the content resulting from the editsapplied by the server 102.

By transmitting user-created content comprising proxy content (i.e.,lower quality version of the user-created content), the low bandwidthconsumption online content editor server 102 utilizes less networkbandwidth when transmitting the user-created content to the onlinecontent editor client 106. Additionally, the lower quality version ofthe content is received by the online content editor client 106 requiresless computing resources to play and view. For some embodiments,utilization of the network bandwidth (for example, when transmittinguser-created content or other information between the low bandwidthconsumption online content editor server 102 and the online contenteditor client 106) can be further optimized using one or more methodsdescribed in association with FIG. 5.

Depending on the embodiment, the low bandwidth consumption onlinecontent editor server 102 can provide a proxy version of user-createdcontent as a content stream that buffers and plays at the online contenteditor client 106, or as a content file that is playable at the onlinecontent editor client 106 once the content file has been downloaded tothe client 106 or while the content file is being downloaded by theclient 106.

In some embodiments, the low bandwidth consumption online content editorserver 102 can create or modify the user-created content using a proxyversion of the high definition/quality content, and then provide theresulting user-created content (comprising the proxy version) to theonline content editor client 106. In various embodiments, the lowbandwidth consumption online content editor server 102 can create ormodify the user-created content using the high definition/qualitycontent, generate a version of the user-created content comprising aproxy content, and then provide the resulting the proxy user-createdcontent to the online content editor client 106.

As the low bandwidth consumption online content editor server 102creates and modifies the user-created content, one or more versions ofthe user-created content may be stored on the server-side datastore 104.The server 102 can store created or modified user-created content beforethe created or modified user-created content to the online contenteditor client 106. When the online content editor client 106 receivescreated or modified user-created content, the client 106 can store thecreated or modified user-created content on the client-side datastore108 before the created or modified user-created content is reviewed orpreviewed at the client 106.

A datastore can be implemented, for example, as software embodied in aphysical computer-readable medium on a general- or specific-purposemachine, in firmware, in hardware, in a combination thereof, or in anapplicable known or convenient device or system. Datastores in thispaper are intended to include any organization of data, includingtables, comma-separated values (CSV) files, traditional databases (e.g.,SQL), or other applicable known or convenient organizational formats.Datastore-associated components, such as database interfaces, can beconsidered “part of” a datastore, part of some other system component,or a combination thereof, though the physical location and othercharacteristics of datastore-associated components is not critical foran understanding of the techniques described in this paper.

Datastores can include data structures. As used in this paper, a datastructure is associated with a particular way of storing and organizingdata in a computer so that it can be used efficiently within a givencontext. Data structures are generally based on the ability of acomputer to fetch and store data at any place in its memory, specifiedby an address, a bit string that can be itself stored in memory andmanipulated by the program. Thus some data structures are based oncomputing the addresses of data items with arithmetic operations; whileother data structures are based on storing addresses of data itemswithin the structure itself. Many data structures use both principles,sometimes combined in non-trivial ways. The implementation of a datastructure usually entails writing a set of procedures that create andmanipulate instances of that structure.

Eventually, at the instruction of the online content editor client 106,the low bandwidth consumption online content editor server 102 canpublish a finalized version of the user-created content for download orsharing with others. During publication, the low bandwidth consumptiononline content editor server 102 can replace low definition/qualitycontent in the user-created content with a high-quality definition/highquality counterpart or some version thereof. For some embodiments, thelow bandwidth consumption online content editor server 102 will replacelow definition/quality content with corresponding high-qualitydefinition/high quality content based on payment by a user. For example,a user may have to make payment before the user-created content ispublished with high definition/quality content. Absent payment, the usercan be prevented from publishing the user-created content, or the useris left with publishing user-created content using proxy content.

FIG. 2 depicts a diagram of an example of a system for low bandwidthconsumption online content editing in accordance with some embodiments.The system 200 for low bandwidth consumption online content editingincludes a low bandwidth consumption online content editor server 202,an online content editor client 206, and a network 204 facilitatingcommunication between the server 202 and the client 206. As describedherein, the system 200 can enable a user at the online content editorclient 206 located remotely on the network 204 to instruct the lowbandwidth consumption online content editor server 202 to create ormodify user-created content comprising high definition/quality content(or some quality variant thereof) at the server. As later discussed, forsome embodiments, the online content editor client 206 can instruct thelow bandwidth consumption online content editor server 202 through aremote online content editor user interface engine 226 located at theclient 206. Subsequently, the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor server 202 can provide, and the online content editor client 206can receive, a version of the created or modified user-created contenthaving a proxy version of the high definition/quality content.

In the example of FIG. 2, the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor server 202 comprises an online adjustable-quality content editingengine 208, a content library engine 210, a content library store 212,an adjustable-quality layer rendering engine 214, a content publicationengine 216, a published version content datastore 218, and anadjustable-quality content payment engine 220. The low bandwidthconsumption online content editor server 202 further comprises a contentlicensing management engine 222 and a cloud management engine 224.

In the example of FIG. 2, the online adjustable-quality content editingengine 208 creates or modifies user-created content at the low bandwidthconsumption online content editor server 202 on behalf of the onlinecontent editor client 206. In certain embodiments, the onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208 can establish a connectionwith the online content editor client 206 over the network 204, canreceive commands relating to content creation or modification over anetwork connection, can perform content creation or modificationoperations in accordance with commands received from the online contenteditor client 206, and can transmit to the online content editor client206 a version of the created or modified user-created content comprisinga proxy version of the high definition/quality content. As noted herein,the created or modified user-created content may be multi-layeredcontent comprising one or more content layers, each content layercomprising one or more content items from a content library. The contentitems utilized can be high definition/quality content items or proxyversions thereof.

In order to perform various operations, the online adjustable-qualitycontent editing engine 208 is coupled to the content library engine 210,the adjustable-quality layer rendering engine 214, the contentpublication engine 216, and the adjustable-quality content paymentengine 220. As discussed in detail below, the adjustable-quality contentquality editing engine 208 can access content items and informationrelating to the content items through the content library engine 210,can render one or more (content) layers of the user-created content atan adjusted quality using the adjustable-quality layer rendering engine214, and can use the content publication engine 216 to publish theuser-created content at an adjusted quality for download or sharingpurposes. The adjustable-quality content quality editing engine 208 canreceive pre-payment or post-payment through the adjustable-qualitycontent payment engine 220 to permit access to for-purchase content orto publish the user-defined content using for-purchase content (e.g.,content of varying quality, such as high definition/quality content).

In the example of FIG. 2, the content library engine 210 is coupled tothe content library datastore 212 and manages the content items storedtherein. For some embodiments, the content library engine 210 can beresponsible for adding, deleting and modifying content items stored onthe content library datastore 212, for retrieving a listing of contentitems stored on the content library datastore 212, for providing detailsregarding content items stored on the content library datastore 212, andfor providing to other engines content items from the content library.For example, the content library engine 210 can provide content items tothe online-adjustable quality content editing engine 208 as a userreviews and select content items to be added to the user-createdcontent. In another example, the content library engine 210 can providecontent items to the adjustable-quality layer rendering engine 214 asthe engine 214 renders one or more layers of user-created content.

In the example of FIG. 2, the content library datastore 212 storescontent items that can be used in the user-created content. The contentitems of the content library datastore 212 can include, withoutlimitation, audio content, video content, image content, graphicscontents, and user-provided content. In some embodiments, theuser-provided content can include the user-created content that wascreated or modified using the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor server 202 and subsequently added to the content librarydatastore 202, and user content uploaded from the online content editorclient to the low bandwidth consumption online content editor server202. The content items of the content library datastore 212 can alsoinclude, without limitation, free content that can be used inuser-created content without need of payment, for-purchase content thatcan be reviewed only after user payment, content that can be added touser-created content only after user payment, and content that can beused in the publication of user-created content only after user payment.

In some embodiments, the high definition/quality content items can beadded to, removed from, and adjusted within the user-created itemwithout need of payment. When the user requests publication of theuser-created content, the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor server 202 can request payment before publication of theuser-created content is allowed. Alternatively, a payment can berequested in order for the user-created content to be published usingthe high definition/quality content rather a proxy version of the highdefinition/quality content.

In some embodiments, the low bandwidth consumption online content editorserver 202 can use proxy versions of the high definition/quality contentwhen performing creation and modification operations on the user-createdcontent, where the use of the proxy version continues until publicationof the user-created content. In some embodiments, the content libraryengine 210 can provide the server 202 with the proxy version of the highdefinition/quality content utilized during creation and modificationoperations. Depending on the embodiment, the content library engine 210can generate the proxy version as it is requested by various engines(e.g., the adjustable-quality layer rendering engine 214, or the onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208), or the content libraryengine 210 can provide the proxy version as stored on the contentlibrary datastore 212. As described herein, the proxy version of thehigh definition/quality content can also be utilized by the onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208 when transmitting previewsof the content to the online content editor client 206.

The content stored on the content library datastore 212 (hereafter, alsoreferred to as “content items”) can have various associated properties(i.e., content item properties) that provide details regarding aspectsof the content items. In certain embodiments, the content itemproperties can comprise such information as content type, contentduration, content usage permissions (e.g., licensing rights), contentcost parameters (e.g., free to use until the user-created content ispublished, or is published using high definition/quality content),content data size, content source (e.g., user provided, or third partyauthor), or content creation or modification date. Through onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208, a user can reviewlistings of content items in the content library datastore 212 (e.g.,available or unavailable content), review details regarding contentitems in the content library (e.g., price, usage parameters, contenttype, duration where applicable, or content definition/quality), managecontent items in the content library datastore 212 (e.g., add, delete,or modify content items in the content library), and add content itemsfrom the content library datastore 212 to user-created content.

In the example of FIG. 2, the adjustable-quality layer rendering engine214 renders one or more layers of the user-created content using contentitems provided by the content library engine 210 from the contentlibrary datastore 212. The content items provided to theadjustable-quality layer rendering engine 214 can be highdefinition/quality content or a lesser definition/quality version of thesame. As the adjustable-quality layer rendering engine 214 renderslayers of the user-created content, the online adjustable-qualitycontent editing engine 208 can specify to the adjustable-quality layerrendering engine 214 the desired quality/definition for the resultinglayers.

For instance, the online adjustable-quality content editing engine 208can specify that the layers of the user-created content, comprising highdefinition/quality content, be rendered using a low definition/qualityversion of the high definition/quality content. Thereafter, theuser-created content comprising layers of low definition/quality contentcan be provided to the online content editor client 206 by the onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208 for preview or editingpurposes, or can be provided to the content publication engine 216(e.g., for free publication of user-created content comprising proxycontent). In some embodiments, the online adjustable-quality contentediting engine 208 can specify that the layers of the user-createdcontent, comprising high definition/quality content, be rendered usingthe high definition/quality content, but only at the time of publicationthrough the content publication engine 216, or only at after the usersubmits payment through the adjustable-quality content payment engine220.

In the example of FIG. 2, the content publication engine 216 receivesuser-created content rendered by the adjustable-quality layer renderingengine 214 and publishes the user-created content. The user-createdcontent can be published such that the user-created content can bedownloaded and saved by the user or others as a stand-alone content file(e.g., MPEG or AVI file), or such that user-created content can beshared to other over the network (e.g., posted to a website so thatothers can play/view the user-created content). Once published, theuser-created content can be stored on the published version contentdatastore 218. For some embodiments, the published user-created contentcan be added to the content library datastore 212 for reuse in otheruser-created content. Depending on the embodiment, the publisheduser-created content can be added to the content library datastore 212as for-purchase content (for example with the sales proceeds being splitbetween amongst the user and the online content editor serviceprovider), or added to the content library datastore 212 as free contentavailable to the public. The user can also define content usageparameters (i.e., licensing rights) for their user-created content whenthe user-created content is added to the content library datastore 212.

In the example of FIG. 2, the adjustable-quality content payment engine220 facilitates user payment to the low bandwidth consumption onlinecontent editor server 202, and can determine the level of functionalityprovided by the low bandwidth consumption online content editor server202, or the level of definition/quality for content within theuser-created content. For example, once payment has been received by theadjustable-quality content payment engine 220 and the adjustable-qualitycontent payment engine 220 has informed the online adjustable-qualitycontent editing engine 208 of such payment, the onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208 can allow the user toaccess certain content items in the content library datastore 212 (e.g.,for-purchase content), can allow the user to perform certain contentcreation or modification operations (e.g., splitting a content layer),or can allow the user to publish the user-created content with highdefinition/quality content. In some embodiments, the definition/qualityof the content within the user-created content may variable anddetermined based on the amount payment made by the user. Theadjustable-quality content payment engine 220 can maintain an account,where the user can maintain a positive balance from which funds arededucted as payments are made to the low bandwidth consumption onlinecontent editor server 202, or where charges are incurred to the accountand the user submits payment some time after (e.g., a credit system). Invarious embodiments, the online adjustable-quality content editingengine 208 can inform the adjustable-quality content payment engine 220of the costs accrued by the user as he or she uses content items fromthe content library datastore 212 in the user-created content, or ascertain functionality of the online adjustable-quality content editingengine 208 is utilized. As noted herein, the pricing for content itemscan be stored with the content items in the content library datastore212.

In the example of FIG. 2, the content licensing management engine 222can determine the licensing rights and permissions of content itemsstored on the content library datastore 212, and inform the onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208 of such rights andpermissions. The online adjustable-quality content editing engine 208,in turn, can adapt control its own functionality in accordance with thelicensing rights and permissions of the content item as the content itemis utilized in the user-created content. For instance, where the contentlicensing rights and permissions of a certain content item restrictedthe content item from being split during creation or modification of theuser-created content (i.e., the content item has to remain intact in theuser-created content), the online adjustable-quality content editingengine 208 can automatically disable a split content layer command withrespect to that certain content item. Other content licensing rights andpermissions can include publication limitations on the user-createdcontent, or limitations on use of content items based on the existingcontent of the user-created content. The content licensing managementengine 222 cam inform the online adjustable-quality content editingengine 208 of the cost of certain content items based on their use inaccordance with the licensing rights and permissions. For someembodiments, the authors of the content items can configure thelicensing rights and permissions for their content items, which is thenstored on the content library datastore 212.

In some embodiments, where the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor server 202 is implemented using virtual or cloud-based computingresources, such virtual or cloud-based computer resources can be managedthrough the cloud management engine 224. The cloud management engine 224can delegate various content-related operations and sub-operations ofthe server 202 to virtual or cloud-based computer resources, and managethe execution of the operations. Depending on the embodiment, the cloudmanagement engine 224 can facilitate management of the virtual orcloud-based computer resources through a application program interface(API) that provides management access and control to the virtual orcloud-based infrastructure providing the computing resources for the lowbandwidth consumption online content editor server 202.

In the example of FIG. 2, the online content editor client 206 comprisesa remote online content editor user interface engine 226 and alocal-version content datastore 228 coupled to the remote online contenteditor user interface engine 226. The remote online content editor userinterface engine 226 facilitates the creation or modification ofuser-created content at the low bandwidth consumption online contenteditor server 202 by the online content editor client 206. As notedherein, the remote online content editor user interface engine 226 canestablish a connection with the online adjustable-quality contentediting engine 208 over the network 204, and then issue content creationand modification commands to the online adjustable-quality contentediting engine 208. In accordance with the issued commands, the onlineadjustable-quality content editing engine 208 can perform the contentcreation or modification operations at the low bandwidth consumptiononline content editor server 202, and can return to the remote onlinecontent editor user interface engine 226 a proxy version of theresulting user-created content.

Alternatively, the online content editor client 206 can modify contentby receiving a proxy version of content to be edited, apply editsdirectly to the proxy content, and then upload the edited proxy contentto the low bandwidth consumption online content editor server 202 sothat the edits can be consistently applied to corresponding contentresiding on the server 202. For some embodiments, the edited proxycontent can be sent to the online adjustable-quality content editingengine 208 for application to the corresponding content residing on theserver 202. Additionally, when the edited lower quality/definitioncontent is uploaded from the online content editor client 206 to the lowbandwidth consumption online content editor server 202, variousimplementations can utilize one or more methods for optimizing thenetwork bandwidth usage. More regarding such optimization methods aredescribed herein in association with FIG. 5.

Depending on the embodiment, the low bandwidth consumption onlinecontent editor server 202 can provide the proxy version of user-createdcontent as a content stream that is buffered and played through theremote online content editor user interface engine 226, or as a contentfile that is playable by the remote online content editor user interfaceengine 226 once the content file has been downloaded to the onlinecontent editor client 206 and stored to the local-version contentdatastore 228.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of an example of a server-side method for lowbandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments. In some implementations, the modules of the flowchart 300and other flowcharts described in this paper are reordered to apermutation of the illustrated order of modules or reorganized forparallel execution. In the example of FIG. 3, the flowchart 300 startsat module 302 with initiating a low quality content online contenteditor instance at a server. Once initiated, the low quality contentonline content editor instance can perform content creation ormodification operations on multi-layered user-created content at theserver. The server can be implemented on a conventional computingdevice, preferably a server-class computing device, or a virtualcomputing or cloud-based server.

In the example of FIG. 3, the flowchart 300 continues to module 304 withobtaining high quality content from a content library datastore. Thecontent library datastore is remotely located with respect to the clientand can reside at the server (or, alternatively, remotely located to theserver as well). In addition to high quality content, the contentlibrary datastore can comprise content of varying quality or definition.Module 306 can obtain the high quality content from the content librarydatastore when the user interface instructs the low quality contentonline content editor instance to utilize the high quality content inthe multi-layered user-created content.

In the example of FIG. 3, the flowchart 300 continues to module 306 withgenerating a lower quality version of the high quality content obtainedduring module 304. The generation of the lower quality version of thehigh quality content can be in anticipation of providing the lowerquality version to the lower quality content online content editorinstance for use in the multi-layered user-created content.

In the example of FIG. 3, the flowchart 300 continues to module 308 withproviding of the lower quality version of the high quality content tothe lower quality content online content editor instance.

In the example of FIG. 3, the flowchart 300 continues to module 310 withcreating or modifying of multi-layered user-created content using thelower quality version of the high quality content, where the lowerquality version is used in a first layer of the multi-layereduser-created content. As noted herein, the lower quality content onlinecontent editor instance can perform the creation or modificationoperations with respect to the multi-layered user created content.Through the use of the lower quality version of the multi-layereduser-created content, less bandwidth is consumed over the connectionbetween the server and the client as the client performs content editingat the server and the server provides the lower quality version to theclient (e.g., for reviewing and editing purposes). Furthermore, thelower quality version of the multi-layered user-created content requiresless computing resources at the client when multi-layered user-createdcontent is played or viewed at the client (e.g., for reviewing orediting purposes).

In the example of FIG. 3, the flowchart 300 continues to module 312 withrendering of the first layer of the multi-layered user-created content,where the high quality content replaces the lower quality version of thehigh quality content in the first layer. In some embodiments, thereplacement of the lower quality version of the high quality content canoccur only after the user has made a payment for the high qualitycontent, or only when the multi-layered user-created content is to bepublished for download or sharing purposes.

In the example of FIG. 3, the flowchart 300 ends at module 314 withpublishing the resulting multi-layered user-created content forconsumption by others or by the user (e.g., via download), where themulti-layered user-created content comprises the rendered first layerhaving the high quality content.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of an example of a client-side method for lowbandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments. In some implementations, the modules of the flowchart 400and other flowcharts described in this paper are reordered to apermutation of the illustrated order of modules or reorganized forparallel execution. In the example of FIG. 4, the flowchart 400 startsat module 402 with initiating a user interface at a client to a lowerquality content online content editor instance at a server. Onceinitiated, a user at the client can issue commands, such as contentcreation or modification commands, to the low quality content onlinecontent editor instance at the server through the user interface. Inresponse, the low quality content online content editor instance canperform operations on the multi-layered user-created content residing atthe server, where the operations are in accordance with the contentcreation or modification commands issued. The client can be implementedby any known or convenient computing device including, for example,mobile computing devices, netbooks, and desktop. Generally, the serverpossesses computing resources in excess of those of the client, or theserver possesses computing resources better suited for content creationor modification than those of the client.

In the example of FIG. 4, the flowchart 400 continues to module 404 withdisplaying a listing of high quality content available for use in alayer of multi-layered user-created content, where the high qualitycontent is from a content library datastore at the server. The servercan query the content library datastore for high quality content, andthe query result can be provided to the client through the userinterface as a listing of the high quality content available for use. Asnoted herein, the high quality content listed can include availablecontent that is free to be used during creation or modificationoperations on the multi-layered user-created content, but that requirespayment for the multi-layered user-created content to be published withthe high quality content rather than a lower quality version of thesame, or that requires a payment before the multi-layered user-createdcontent can be published at all. In some embodiments, as the highquality content is used without payment during creation or modificationoperations, a lower quality version of the high quality content can beused in place of the high quality content for such operations, therebyobviating the need for generating a lower quality version of themulti-layered user-created content before it is provided to the userinterface at the client for review and editing purposes.

In the example of FIG. 4, the flowchart 400 continues to module 406 withinstructing the lower quality content online content editor instance atthe server to create or modify a layer of the multi-layered user-createdcontent using the high quality content. The high quality content can beselected from one or more items provided in the list of module 404. Asnoted herein, the client can instruct the lower quality content onlinecontent editor instance through the user interface, and the lowerquality content online content editor instance in response can act uponsuch instructions.

In the example of FIG. 4, the flowchart 400 continues to module 408 withreceiving a lower quality version of the multi-layered user-createdcontent that results from module 406, where the lower quality version isreceived at the client for review or editing purposes. As noted herein,the client can receive the lower quality version through the userinterface, which can play or view the lower version for the user at theclient. Depending on the embodiment, the client can receive the lowerquality version for reviewing the results of the content creation ormodification operations performed by the server on the multi-layereduser-created content. The lower quality version can also be received forinstructing the lower quality content online content editor instance toperform additional content creation or modification operations to themulti-layered user-created content. Through the use of the lower qualityversion of the multi-layered user-created content, less bandwidth isconsumed over the connection between the server and the client as theclient performs content editing at the server. Additionally, the lowerquality version of the multi-layered user-created content requires lesscomputing resources at the client when multi-layered user-createdcontent is played or viewed at the client (e.g., for reviewing orediting purposes).

In the example of FIG. 4, the flowchart 400 continues to module 410 withrequesting the publication of the multi-layered user-created contenthaving high quality content for the purposes of download or sharing withothers. As described herein, the client can make a request forpublication through the user interface at the client. When the clientrequests publication of the multi-layered user-created content, thelower quality content used in the multi-layered user-created content canbe replaced with corresponding high quality content, and published foraccess by the users or others.

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of an example of an optimization method forlow bandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments. Use of the optimization method can, for some embodiments,allow for efficient use of network bandwidth between an onlinelow-bandwidth consumption client and an online low-bandwidth consumptionserver. Depending on the embodiment, the optimization method can beimplemented at the online low-bandwidth consumption client, at an onlinelow-bandwidth consumption server, or both. Once implemented, theoptimization method can determine how and when a content transferbetween the online low-bandwidth consumption client and the onlinelow-bandwidth consumption server can be performed in a manner whichreduces the amount of content data being transferred. Generally, theoptimization method makes the transfer determination based on the typeof content creation or modification being performed, based on thecontext in which the content creation or modification is beingperformed, preferences set at the online low-bandwidth consumptionclient or the online low-bandwidth consumption server, or somecombination thereof.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that depending on theimplementation, the optimization method can be implemented for contenttransfer from the online low-bandwidth consumption client to the onlinelow-bandwidth consumption server, can be implemented for contenttransfer from the online low-bandwidth consumption server to the onlinelow-bandwidth consumption client, or both. Additionally, though theoptimization methods described herein are primarily described inassociation with content transfers, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the optimization methods can be utilized for otherinformation being transferred between the online low-bandwidthconsumption client and the online low-bandwidth consumption serverincluding, for example, timeline information. Furthermore, in someimplementations, the modules of the flowchart 500 and other flowchartsdescribed in this paper are reordered to a permutation of theillustrated order of modules or reorganized for parallel execution.

In the example of FIG. 5, the flowchart 500 starts at module 502 withinitiating a user interface at a client to a lower quality contentonline content editor instance at a server. Once initiated, a user atthe client can issue commands, such as content creation or modificationcommands, to the low quality content online content editor instance atthe server through the user interface. In response, the low qualitycontent online content editor instance can perform operations on themulti-layered user-created content residing at the server or themulti-layered user-created content residing at the client, where theoperations are in accordance with the content creation or modificationcommands issued. As noted herein, the client can be implemented by anyknown or convenient computing device including, for example, mobilecomputing devices, netbooks, and desktop. Generally, the serverpossesses computing resources in excess of those of the client, or theserver possesses computing resources better suited for content creationor modification than those of the client.

In the example of FIG. 5, the flowchart 500 continues to module 504 withinstructing the low quality content online content editor instance toperform an action with respect to a layer of a multi-layereduser-created content, which is using high quality content. The highquality content can be selected from one or more items from a contentlibrary datastore at the server. As noted herein, the client caninstruct the lower quality content online content editor instancethrough the user interface, and the lower quality content online contenteditor instance in response can act upon such instructions. As alsonoted herein, the high quality content listed can include availablecontent that is free to be used during creation or modificationoperations on the multi-layered user-created content, but that requirespayment for the multi-layered user-created content to be published withthe high quality content rather than a lower quality version of thesame, or that requires a payment before the multi-layered user-createdcontent can be published at all. In some embodiments, as the highquality content is used without payment during creation or modificationoperations, a lower quality version of the high quality content can beused in place of the high quality content for such operations, therebyobviating the need for generating a lower quality version of themulti-layered user-created content before it is provided to the userinterface at the client for review and editing purposes.

At module 504, actions instructed to be performed may include creationoperations or edit operations to be performed on the user-createdcontent. The context in which the instruction is made and/or the actionis performed can have an influence on how the method optimizes transfersof content between the client and server. Some examples of contextaspects that can be considered during the optimization method includewhether the instruction is requested in a collaborative setting (e.g.,were one content editor user are editing the same user-created contentin a collaborative manner), content editor user preferences (e.g., earlystart on rendering processes), and whether one or more otherinstructions have been requested concurrently with the instructionrequested at module 504.

In the example of FIG. 5, the flowchart 500 continues to module 506 withdetermining how the low quality version of the multi-layereduser-created content is uploaded from the client to the server based onthe action instructed to be performed (at module 504) or the context inwhich the instruction was made (at module 504). For example, where acontent editor user is performing content edits to user-created contentresiding locally at the content editor user's client, the module 506 candetermine that only those portions of user-created content that areaffected by the content editor user's modifications are transferred fromthe client to the server. In another example, where a content editoruser has instructed two or more content modification actions beperformed on the user-created content, the module 506 can determine thatthe user-created data should be transferred only once the two or moremodification actions have been performed, as to avoid having to transferthe user-created content after each action is performed.

In yet another example, where two or more content editor users arecollaboratively performing content edits to the same user-createdcontent and where each content editor user is respectively editing proxycontent residing locally at the content editor user's client, the module506 can determine portions of the proxy content residing at therespective clients are uploaded to the server as early as possible asthe portions are modified by the individual content editor users. Indoing so, various implementation can try to ensure that the latestchanges applied by individual collaborative users to the user-createdcontent can be shared amongst other collaborative users.

In a further example, where a content editor user indicates a preference(e.g., through user settings) for server processes (e.g., rendering orconversion) to be performed on content as early as possible (e.g., ascontent data begins to arrive at the server from the client), the module506 can determine that any upload of proxy or non-proxy content from theclient to the server should be transferred in parts (e.g., content datachunks or segments), thereby enabling the server to commence processingof the content as the parts are received (rather than waiting for thecontent in its entirety).

Where the module 506 determines proxy or non-proxy content should beuploaded from the client to the server in parts, and where the server isprocessing those parts as they are being received, a content editor usercan suspend or cancel the server processing mid-performance through theclient, during which the content editor user can further modify portionsof the content through the client. The portions modified during thesuspension or cancellation of server processed may correspond to partsof the content that were already processed by the server beforesuspension or cancellation of the server processing was issued. In someimplementations, the portions of the content that have already beenprocessed by the server but are not subsequently modified by the contenteditor user may be reutilized to avoid unnecessary processing. Also,where the module 506 determines proxy or non-proxy content should beuploaded from the client to the server in parts, and where the server isprocessing those parts as they are being received, the client may beginto receive a preview of those portions already processed before all theportions have been processed by the server.

For some implementations, the determination performed by the module 506may be based on preferences set by a content editor user at an onlinecontent editor client or preferences set by an administrator at anonline content editor server. In some implementations, the onlinecontent editor client and/or the online content editor server can beconfigured to perform the determination of module 506 according to apreconfigured setting.

In the example of FIG. 5, the flowchart 500 continues to module 508 withuploading the lower quality version of the multi-layered user-createdcontent from the client to the server according to the determinationmade in module 506. As noted herein, the determination can includeuploading the lower quality version of the multi-layered user-createdcontent in parts, uploading the lower quality version of themulti-layered user-created content according to what portions of theuser-create content have been modified at the client, or uploadingmodified portions of the lower quality version of the multi-layereduser-created content as early as possible (e.g., when in a collaborativeonline content editing setting).

FIG. 6 depicts an example of client-side user interface for lowbandwidth consumption online content editing in accordance with someembodiments. Through the client-side user interface, a user at a clientcan perform online content editing at a server while consuming lowbandwidth over a network connection. In particular, the client-side userinterface can be used at the client to create or edit user-createdcontent residing at the server. The client-side user interface can betransferred from a server to a client as a module that can then beoperated on the client. For example, the client-side user interface cancomprise a client-side applet or script that is downloaded to the clientfrom the server and then operated at the client (e.g., through a webbrowser). Additionally, the client-side user interface can operatethrough a plug-in that is installed in a web browser. User input to theclient-side user interface can cause a command relating to onlinecontent editing, such as a content layer edit command or a contentplayer/viewer command, to be transmitted from the client to the server.

The client-side user interface 600 includes multiple controls and otherfeatures that enable a user at a client to control the creation ormodification of content at a server. In the example of FIG. 6, theclient-side user interface 600 includes a tabbed menu bar 602, a contentlisting 604, a content player/viewer 606, content player/viewer controls608, content layer editor controls 610, a content timeline indicator612, and a content layering interface 614.

In the example of FIG. 6, the client-side user interface 600 includesthe tabbed menu bar 602 that allows the user to select between differentcontent types (e.g., video, audio, or images) as they search for contentavailable to them from a content library. Here, the tabbed menu bar 602allows the user to select between reviewing “Videos,” “Sounds,”“Graphics” (e.g., text or images), or personal (media) content (i.e.,“My media files”) that is available from the content library. Thepersonal content can be that which the user uploaded to their account onthe server, that which the user already created on the server, or both.Those of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that in someembodiments, the tabbed menu bar 602 can include additional contenttypes (e.g., “3D Video”) from which the user can select as they searchfor content available to them from the content library.

The tabbed menu bar 602 also enables the user to select “Transitions,”which can be predefined or user-created content transitions insertedbetween two content items in a layer of user-created content. Forinstance, with respect to video content (i.e., video clips), availabletransitions can include a left-to-right video transition which onceinserted between a first video clip and a second video clip, cause thefirst video clip transition to the second video clip in a left-to-rightmanner. Likewise, with respect to audio content (i.e., audio clips),available transitions can include a right-to-left transition which onceinserted between a first audio clip and a second audio clip, causes thefirst audio clip to fade into to the second audio clip starting from theright audio channel and ending at the left audio channel.

As the user selects between the content types in the tabbed menu bar602, a listing of available content matching the selected content typecan be displayed to the user accordingly. In the example of FIG. 6, thecontent listing 604 displays a list of content available from thecontent library. For some embodiments, the content listing 604 can listthe available content with a thumbnail image configured to provide theuser with a preview of the content. For example, for video content, thethumbnail image may be a moving image that provided a brief preview ofthe video content. With respect to image content, the thumbnail previewmay be a smaller sized version (i.e., lower resolution version) of theimage content. In certain embodiments, a content item listed in contentlisting 606 can be further previewed in a content player/viewer 606,configured to play audio or video or display larger resolution images.The content listing 604 can also provide details regarding the listedcontent including, without limitation, a source of the content, a dateof creation for the content, a data size of the content, a time durationof the content (where applicable), licensing information relating to thecontent, and cost of using the content.

In the example of FIG. 6, a user can utilize the player/viewer 606 topreview content items from the content library listed in the contentlisting 604. The content player/viewer 606 can also provide a preview ofuser-created content being created through the client-side userinterface 600. In one example, the user can create user-created content,containing one or more video and audio content items from the contentlibrary, and then preview that user-created content through the contentplayer/viewer 606. Depending on the embodiment, as the user-createdcontent is previewed through the content player/viewer 606, the servercan stream such user-created content to the client as it is being playedor shown. In some embodiments, the user-created content can be firstdownloaded to the client before it is played or shown through thecontent player/viewer 606.

As described herein, the content library items or the user-createdcontent shown through the content player/viewer 606 can be of a proxythan the actual definition/quality of the content residing on the serveror the content that is eventually rendered by the server. Because theproxy content requires less bandwidth when being transferred from theserver to a client, some embodiments can lower the data bandwidthconsumption between the client and server as content is created, edited,and previewed through the client-side user interface 600.

In the example of FIG. 6, a user controls the operations of the contentplayer/viewer 606 using the content player/viewer controls 608. Thecontent player/viewer controls 608 can include control commands commonto various players, such as previous track, next track, fast-backward,fast-forward, play, pause, and stop. For some embodiments, a user inputto the content player/viewer controls 608 can result in a contentplayer/viewer command instruction being transmitted from the client tothe server.

In the example of FIG. 6, the content layer editor control 610 comprisescontrols that enable the user to edit content layers of user-createdcontent. Through the content layer editor control 610, a user canimplement edits to a content layer of the user-created content residingon the server. The content layer editor control 610 can include editcontrols that enable a user to add, delete or modify one or more contentlayers of user-created content. Example edit controls include, withoutlimitation, adding a content layer, deleting a content layer, splittinga single content layer into two or more content layers, and editingproperties of a content layer.

In the example of FIG. 6, the content timeline indicator 612 visuallyassists a user in determining a temporal position of a content layer inuser-created content or a content item in the content layer. Forinstance, the content timeline indicator 612 can comprise a time markerthat indicates a temporal start point or a temporal end point for acontent layer or a content item in the content layer. In someembodiments, the length of the content timeline indicator 612 can adaptaccording to the overall duration of the user-created creation, or canbe adjusted according to a user-setting.

In the example of FIG. 6, the content layering interface 614 enables auser to access and modify content layers of the user-created content.The content layering interface 614 can comprise a stack of content layerslots, where each content layer slot graphically presents all thecontent layers of a particular content type associated to theuser-created content. Example content types include, without limitation,graphical content (e.g., “Graphics”), video content (e.g., “Video”),image content (e.g., “Image”), and audio content (e.g., “Audioeffects”). The content layering interface 614 can also comprise image,video or audio effects, which can be applied to the various contenttypes.

In some embodiments, the user can add content to a new or existingcontent layer of the user-created content by “dragging-and-dropping”content items from the content listing 604 into the content layeringinterface 614. Further, in various embodiments, the user can graphicallymodify a temporal position or duration of a content layer or a contentitem within the content layer. For instance, the user can drag-and-dropthe graphically represented start or end of a content item to adjust theduration of the content item (thereby the temporal start of temporal endof the content item) in the user-created content.

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a system on which techniques described inthis paper can be implemented. The computer system 700 may be aconventional computer system that can be used as a client computersystem, such as a wireless client or a workstation, or a server computersystem. The computer system 700 includes a computer 702, I/O devices704, and a display device 706. The computer 702 includes a processor708, a communications interface 710, memory 712, display controller 714,non-volatile storage 716, and I/O controller 718. The computer 702 maybe coupled to or include the I/O devices 704 and display device 706.

The computer 702 interfaces to external systems through thecommunications interface 710, which may include a modem or networkinterface. It will be appreciated that the communications interface 710can be considered to be part of the computer system 700 or a part of thecomputer 702. The communications interface 710 can be an analog modem,ISDN modem, cable modem, token ring interface, satellite transmissioninterface (e.g. “direct PC”), or other interfaces for coupling acomputer system to other computer systems.

The processor 708 may be, for example, a conventional microprocessorsuch as an Intel Pentium microprocessor or Motorola power PCmicroprocessor. The memory 712 is coupled to the processor 708 by a bus770. The memory 712 can be Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and canalso include Static RAM (SRAM). The bus 770 couples the processor 708 tothe memory 712, also to the non-volatile storage 716, to the displaycontroller 714, and to the I/O controller 718.

The I/O devices 704 can include a keyboard, disk drives, printers, ascanner, and other input and output devices, including a mouse or otherpointing device. The display controller 714 may control in theconventional manner a display on the display device 706, which can be,for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD).The display controller 714 and the I/O controller 718 can be implementedwith conventional well known technology.

The non-volatile storage 716 is often a magnetic hard disk, an opticaldisk, or another form of storage for large amounts of data. Some of thisdata is often written, by a direct memory access process, into memory712 during execution of software in the computer 702. One of skill inthe art will immediately recognize that the terms “machine-readablemedium” or “computer-readable medium” includes any type of storagedevice that is accessible by the processor 708 and also encompasses acarrier wave that encodes a data signal.

The computer system 700 is one example of many possible computer systemswhich have different architectures. For example, personal computersbased on an Intel microprocessor often have multiple buses, one of whichcan be an I/O bus for the peripherals and one that directly connects theprocessor 708 and the memory 712 (often referred to as a memory bus).The buses are connected together through bridge components that performany necessary translation due to differing bus protocols.

Network computers are another type of computer system that can be usedin conjunction with the teachings provided herein. Network computers donot usually include a hard disk or other mass storage, and theexecutable programs are loaded from a network connection into the memory712 for execution by the processor 708. A Web TV system, which is knownin the art, is also considered to be a computer system, but it may lacksome of the features shown in FIG. 7, such as certain input or outputdevices. A typical computer system will usually include at least aprocessor, memory, and a bus coupling the memory to the processor.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms ofalgorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bitswithin a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions andrepresentations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally,conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to adesired result. The operations are those requiring physicalmanipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily,these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capableof being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwisemanipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasonsof common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar termsare to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and aremerely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unlessspecifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizingterms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or“determining” or “displaying” or the like, refer to the action andprocesses of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical(electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers andmemories into other data similarly represented as physical quantitieswithin the computer system memories or registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

Techniques described in this paper relate to apparatus for performingthe operations. The apparatus can be specially constructed for therequired purposes, or it can comprise a general purpose computerselectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored inthe computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, read-onlymemories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs,magnetic or optical cards, any type of disk including floppy disks,optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, or any type of mediasuitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to acomputer system bus.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some detailfor purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is notnecessarily limited to the details provided.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for low bandwidth consumption onlinecontent editing, the system comprising: an online adjustable qualitycontent editing engine; an adjustable-quality layer rendering enginecoupled to the online adjustable quality content editing engine; acontent library engine coupled to the online adjustable quality contentediting engine; an adjustable quality content payment engine coupled tothe online adjustable quality content editing engine, the adjustablequality content payment engine comprising a payment processing engineand a content quality definition engine; a content library datastorecoupled to the content library engine, wherein the content librarydatastore comprises first content, the first content containing a firstrepresentation of user-generated media and the first representationhaving a first quality, and the first content comprising user-generatedor third-party provided content; a remote online content editor userinterface engine at a client; a content publication engine coupled tothe online adjustable quality content editing engine; a contentlicensing management engine coupled to the online adjustable qualitycontent editing engine; wherein, in operation: the content libraryengine gathers second content containing a second representation of theuser-generated media, the second representation having a second qualityless than the first quality; the online adjustable quality contentediting engine: provides the second content to the remote online contenteditor user interface engine; receives one or more local edits to alocal version of the second content, the one or more local edits beingat the second quality; gathers one or more edit components, each of theone or more edit components corresponding to each of the one or morelocal edits, and the one or more edit components having the firstquality; the adjustable-quality layer rendering engine: rendersmulti-layered user-created content comprising a superimposition of theone or more edit components and the first content, the multi-layereduser-created content having the first quality; adjustably renders afirst editing layer at a predefined-quality level corresponding to thefirst quality, wherein the predefined-quality level is based on a userpreference, a payment from a user, a system preference, and a systemcondition; the payment processing engine processes the payment; thecontent quality definition engine defines the predefined-quality levelbased on a condition selected from a group consisting of an amount ofthe payment and a success in processing the payment; the contentpublication engine publishes the multi-layered user-created content forconsumption after a first editing layer has been rendered by theadjustable-quality layer rendering engine; the content licensingmanagement engine: obtains a licensing parameter of use for the firstcontent, wherein the licensing parameter comprises a use limitationassociated with the first content; provides the licensing parameter tothe online adjustable quality content editing engine to limit use of thefirst content according to the use limitation.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the content library datastore comprises the second content, andthe content library engine provides the second content to the onlineadjustable quality content editing engine from the content librarydatastore.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the content library enginecomprises a lower quality content generation engine; wherein, inoperation: the lower quality content generation engine generates thesecond content from the first content, and provides the second contentto the online adjustable quality content editing engine.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein the first content comprises an image, an audio clip,or a video clip.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first contentfurther comprises payment-free content or for-purchase content.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1, comprising an adjustable quality content paymentengine coupled to the online adjustable quality content editing engine:wherein, in operation: the payment processing engine processes thepayment from the user; a high quality content control engine controlsaccess to the first content by the online adjustable quality contentediting engine based on a condition selected from a group consisting ofan amount of the payment and a success in processing the payment.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising a content licensing managementengine coupled to the adjustable quality content payment engine;wherein, in operation: the content licensing management engine obtains alicensing parameter for the first content, wherein the licensingparameter comprises a cost associated with the first content; thecontent licensing management engine provides the licensing parameter tothe adjustable quality content payment engine to charge for use of thefirst content according to the cost.
 8. A method for low bandwidthconsumption online content editing, the method comprising: obtainingfirst content from a content library datastore, the first contentcontaining a first representation of user-generated media and the firstrepresentation having a first quality and the first content comprisinguser-generated or third-party provided content; gathering second contentfrom an online content editor server, the second content containing asecond representation of the user-generated media, the secondrepresentation having a second quality less than the first quality;providing, from the online content editor server, the second content toa low quality content online content editor instance at a client;receiving from the client one or more local edits to a local version ofthe second content, the one or more local edits being at the secondquality; gathering, at the online content editor server, one or moreedit components, each of the one or more edit components correspondingto each of the one or more local edits, and the one or more editcomponents having the first quality; rendering, at the online contenteditor server, multi-layered user-created content comprising asuperimposition of the one or more edit components and the firstcontent, the multi-layered user-created content having the firstquality; adjustably rendering, at the online content editor server, afirst editing layer at a predefined-quality level corresponding to thefirst quality, wherein the predefined-quality level is based on a userpreference, a payment from a user, a system preference, and a systemcondition; processing, at the online content editor server, the payment;defining, at the online content editor server, the predefined-qualitylevel based on a condition selected from a group consisting of an amountof the payment and a success in processing the payment; publishing, atthe online content editor server, the multi-layered user-created contentfor consumption after the first editing layer has been rendered by anadjustable-quality layer rendering engine; obtaining, at the onlinecontent editor server, a licensing parameter of use for the firstcontent, wherein the licensing parameter comprises a use limitationassociated with the first content; providing, from the online contenteditor server, the licensing parameter to an online adjustable qualitycontent editing engine to limit use of the first content according tothe use limitation.
 9. The method of claim 8, comprising: publishing themulti-layered user-created content for consumption after the firstediting layer has been rendered.
 10. The method of claim 8, comprising:receiving a control instruction from a user interface at the client;controlling an operation of the low quality content online contenteditor instance according to the control instruction.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: initiating the low quality content onlinecontent editor instance at the online content editor server; receiving aconnection to the low quality content online content editor instancefrom the user interface at the client.
 12. The method of claim 8,further comprising generating the second content before providing thesecond content to the low quality content online content editorinstance.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprising: processing thepayment from the user; controlling access to the first content by thelow quality content online content editor instance based on an amount ofthe payment or based on success in processing the payment.
 14. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the licensing parameter relates to a costassociated with the first content; and wherein the method furthercomprises charging for use of the first content according to the cost.15. A computer program product comprising: one or more tangible,non-transitory computer-readable storage devices; program instructions,stored on at least one of the one or more tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable storage devices that, when executed, cause a computerto: obtain first content from a content library datastore, the firstcontent containing a first representation of user-generated media andthe first representation having a first quality and the first contentcomprising user-generated or third-party provided content; gather secondcontent from an online content editor server, the second contentcontaining a second representation of the user-generated media, thesecond representation having a second quality less than the firstquality; provide, from the online content editor server, the secondcontent to a low quality content online content editor instance at aclient; receive from the client one or more local edits to a localversion of the second content, the one or more local edits being at thesecond quality; gather, at the online content editor server, one or moreedit components, each of the one or more edit components correspondingto each of the one or more local edits, and the one or more editcomponents having the first quality; render, at the online contenteditor server, multi-layered user-created content comprising asuperimposition of the one or more edit components and the firstcontent, the multi-layered user-created content having the firstquality; adjustably render, at the online content editor server, a firstediting layer at a predefined-quality level corresponding to the firstquality, wherein the predefined-quality level is based on a userpreference, a payment from a user, a system preference, and a systemcondition; process, at the online content editor server, the payment;define, at the online content editor server, the predefined-qualitylevel based on a condition selected from a group consisting of an amountof the payment and a success in processing the payment; publish, at theonline content editor server, the multi-layered user-created content forconsumption after the first editing layer has been rendered by anadjustable-quality layer rendering engine; obtain, at the online contenteditor server, a licensing parameter of use for the first content,wherein the licensing parameter comprises a use limitation associatedwith the first content; provide, from the online content editor server,the licensing parameter to an online adjustable quality content editingengine to limit use of the first content according to the uselimitation.